John Huff/Staff photographer
Gov. Maggie Hassan delivers her inaugural address to a full house Thursday at the Statehouse in Concord.

CONCORD — After taking her oath of office as New Hampshire's 81st governor — and only the second woman to hold the office — Maggie Hassan said she was grateful at her inauguration Thursday afternoon for the trust Granite State residents have placed in her.

Chief Justice Linda Dalianis administered the oath of office to Hassan, who later stated that gender equality was exemplified in New Hampshire Thursday with a female Supreme Court Justice swearing in a female governor.

Speaking from the Statehouse in her first speech delivered as governor and joined by her husband and children, whom she thanked for their support, Hassan said it will be through traditions that have guided New Hampshire residents in its history that she will accomplish building a stronger and more innovative state.

And during her time in office she aims for accomplishments made in the state and the values that guide them, to be shared by all those who call New Hampshire home, regardless of circumstance.

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John Huff/Staff photographer
A color guard dressed in Revolutionary War era clothing exits after posting of the colors during Gov. Maggie Hassan’s inauguration at the Statehouse in Concord Thursday.

“We live these values in our personal lives and our workplaces,” she said.

It is her goal to create a state allowing all of its residents to enjoy the “high quality of life” offered within its borders.

“Where all our citizens are included in our success and prosperity,” she said.

Throughout her inaugural address she emphasized one path toward that end was education.

Addressing the significant state funding cuts in higher education, Hassan said is time leaders in the state begin to “reverse course.”

“Cutting state support for public education in half and lowering the tobacco tax two years ago was short sighted,” she said, adding that it hurt the state's younger population.

She also said the university system needs to find ways to increase its in-state student enrollment and freeze in-state tuition.

“We need to renew our tradition of attracting new citizens and help our young people stay here, raise families here, and remain part of the future of New Hampshire.

“I have always believed strongly in the power and value of education,” she said.

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John Huff/Staff photographer
Departing Gov. John Lynch, left, is thanked for his service by attendees to the inauguration of Gov. Maggie Hassan at the Statehouse in Concord Thursday.

Innovative thinking was the main theme throughout Hassan's speech as she touched on the priorities she sees for the state's future. She said accomplishments through innovation can be made while still creating a balanced budget.

“We can fund our priorities and balance the budget,” she said.

Hassan warned, however, that funds should be spent prudently and wisely.

“Opportunities for innovation and growth can evaporate if we fail to make smart investments in a timely way,” she stressed.

University of New Hampshire President Mark Huddleston told Foster's he was pleased to hear Hassan “reiterate her support for restoring funding for the state's four-year public colleges and universities to the 2010-2011 level of $100 million.”

“In the short term this will make higher education more affordable for Granite State students, and in the long term it will grow the state's economy, attract new businesses and provide jobs. Employers in the state are in desperate need of college graduates ready for the workplace, and we are already committed to partnering with them to provide those skilled workers. That same commitment from the state is critical to our success,” he wrote.

Hassan cited the low poverty and teen birth rates, the fact that the state is consistently rated one of the safest states as well as one of the safest in the country in which to to raise children, as distinctions its residents can be proud of.

Committing to support of small businesses, entrepreneurs, and the education needed to inspire New Hampshire's students, Hassan said there are things government must do not only to assist its residents, but to establish a solid economic platform as well.

Leading local and state officials, members of the N.H. Army National Guard, state troopers and others, NHARNG Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan of New Durham, diagnosed with terminal breast cancer and who has also led the fight against the Defense of Marriage Act, led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance Thursday.

On Hassan's website, army veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson, called Morgan “a national treasure and a treasure to her home state of New Hampshire.” The website states Morgan recently announced that her doctors told her she has just months to live.

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John Huff/Staff photographer
Gov. Maggie Hassan takes the podium Thursday after being sworn in as governor at the Statehouse in Concord.

In her speech, Hassan said the state's leadership toward marriage equality without a court order is one way New Hampshire “signals to everyone the kind of welcoming state we are.”

Acknowledging the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Hassan remined everyone that “as lawmakers, we must also recognize that out first obligation is to protect the safety of New Hampshire's families.”

Senate Democratic Leader Sylvia Larsen said Hassan's speech was a strong one and believes “she will be a leader who will focus on ensuring New Hampshire is a more innovative state by taking a bipartisan, common-sense, and fiscally responsible approach to addressing our challenges.”